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A lot or a little?

The parents' guide to what's in this book.

Educational Value

Positive Messages

Overall there is a strong message of acceptance. Nat is an orphan who has trouble finding a family because he can see demons. He becomes a demonkeeper much too young, but not before he is ready to care for some demons and protect society from others.

Positive Role Models & Representations

Nat the orphan, Nat the accidental Demonkeeper, Nat the lonely, lost boy falls naturally into the role of hero and exhibits all the traditional and excellent qualities necessary -- he's quick, smart, and brave -- along with a sense of humor, lack of despair, and deep compassion.

Violence

A little gore -- the Beast in the dungeon wants live food, preferably lost children, and the Demonkeeper who wants the Beast uses his minions to kill several people.

Sex

Nat's mentor has a rule against girls -- as far as he's concerned, they're no better than a secubus. But in the end there is one sweet kiss.

Language

Consumerism

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

A few secondary characters smoke cigarettes.

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that there is a little gore and several killings in this tale, making it more appropriate for middleschoolers and up than for the 9-12 age range the publisher recommends. But there's not enough gore to put it in the horror genre and the humor and good nature of the main character add a milder quality. The demons (represented here more as manifestations of chaos) aren't all evil; many of the ones who live with the main character are more mischievous than bad. The Beast, however, is truly evil, and his natural prey is lost children.

What's the story?

A 15-year-old orphan named Nat finds himself in charge of a houseful of demons after his mentor dies unexpectedly. It's not a sunny day in Seattle: The Beast living in the basement longs for fresh food -- preferably fresh children. His mentor's previous protege, the Thin Man, has gone over to the dark side, and is on his way to Nat's to make the Beast his own. Some skaters break into his house and set the Beast free, but not before he kills and eats one of them. Nat sets off to capture the Beast and finds assistance from unexpected places, including one of the young library staffers who has a crush on him. There are a few deaths before Nat, his minions, and his new friends stop the evil Thin Man and the Beast, and restore a rightful order to the chaos that longs to break free and conquer Seattle.

Is it any good?

Nat is an irresistible, unexpected hero in a fast-paced adventure that will have readers wishing for more. Wickedly funny, smart, lonely, and out of place wherever he goes, Nat is beloved only by his minions. Teens will have no trouble relating to this hero who is simply trying to get by -- managing his household of demons and an evil threat while still trying to get a date. And it's a nice touch when he offers another lost kid the same opportunities he was given.

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